Jamesv281117

41 minutes ago, dgmaso1 said:

Just heard from a cast member onboard RL…will be circumnavigating Africa.  No other details.  Supposed to be announced this week.

Interesting, hope is some announcement for the sake of everyone's planning!

11 minutes ago, Perigem said:

That article is from today 06/02/2024 about things that are happening now. 

I've been considering given this is an active war situation would your insurance even cover you if something happened.

There's no way the cruise through the Suez is happening as scheduled the question is where they redirect it to and the knock on effects on other voyages. Only know of Costa cruises sailing the ships empty through and then continuing European voyages as planned.

They show all kinds of sports usually at the Social Club so as a minimum it will be on there I would think 

1 hour ago, Kiraon said:

Our cruise from Doha to Antalya through the Red Sea and Suez Canal starts on March 9, so in 5 weeks. I have already contacted the travel agency several times, but TUI cruises says that the trip will continue as normal. While Carnival Cop. has canceled all cruises, the German TUI cruises are just playing stupid. I am very angry and disappointed.

Wow that is soon not to have made any adjustments. Some cruise ships are doing the sailing through the red sea empty but as said with the houthis anything is a gamble and any passage at the moment will be tense and risky.

3 minutes ago, helkatred said:

Good advice, thank you. We have our flights booked but accommodation is flexible thank goodness. 

Nothing has been announced regarding the April voyages which I think is quite late to be honest but you'll also get a good clue from what they do with those for yours in October as well 

1 minute ago, helkatred said:

Does that mean you have cancelled?  Will VV accept cancellations based on this Red Sea disruption to schedules?  We are on the October return to Athens but it is concerning us even at this point.

I wouldn't cancel anything, if they change/cancel their itineraries it's likely to be accompanied by some incentives if other operators are anything to go by so you could stand to gain something.

Also a shout I stayed in Portsmouth before a virgin voyage and did the hover boat to the isle of wight and really enjoyed that, happened to be great weather which always helps 

Also national express can take you from Heathrow and drop off at the international port.. 

I think if flying in with big suitcases I'd be tempted to fly to Heathrow and get the national express direct to Portsmouth, at least you know the suitcases will be going in the hold of the bus and can pay for additional if you need it.

26 minutes ago, lesters said:

Today is 100 days until we sail from Barcelona on the Scarlet Lady for our first VV cruise after sailing primarily with Carnival! 
 

So excited for it all - Europe, the ship a fantastic adventure!!

 

DH & I turn 50 this year so this trip is a bit of a bday celebration 🍾 

 

Thanks for the info, lives and U Tube suggestions.  I’m feeling informed and ready for the ship - have my restaurants planned for booking and a calendar reminder set!   Now my planning time is filled with researching the beautiful destination of the French Daze & Ibiza Nights itinerary! 

Am sure you'll have a wonderful time! Sailing Virgin in the Mediterranean is a pleasure! 

2 hours ago, onechaiguy said:

I am on the May 9 voyage out of Athens, so selfishly I would not like to be canceled, but whatever VV decides to do to keep everyone safe, I hope they make a decision soon so that everyone can make alternate plans as needed! 

Definitely agree on that it needs to be soon, some of the repositioning ports are quite far flung so people are going to be eager to know what to do with flights etc.

Someone at virgin voyages said today they haven't made any changes to the repositioning voyages and are assessing but surely they must be deciding behind the scenes.

50 minutes ago, mrhowell2002 said:

i want the best option ...should i fly into heathrow or another airport because i want a hotel close to the cruise port??? pls help...thx

If using public transport on landing there are direct trains from Gatwick airport to Portsmouth which might be convenient for you.

Unsure what it's like for a cruise from San Juan but having done another busy itinerary there was still a good amount of excursions available upon departure and we used loot to pay for a few. If you're flexible on the sort of excursion you're prepared to do I think is worth waiting.

50 minutes ago, trippingpara said:

I wonder if they would cancel the Singapore to Dubai leg as well and sail it straight across the Indian Ocean towards South Africa instead of sailing it north to Dubai and then backtracking south along East Africa.  Would that give them enough time to make the extended run to the Med without impacting any of the Med cruises?

 

I hear that there is a lot of talk in Israel on starting to scale down the war in Gaza.  I wonder if that would be enough to make the Houthis simmer down some or if they would continue until Israel completely left Gaza which probably won't happen for quite some time.

They could have any number of ideas of making it work which could include a new itinerary for people to stay on around Africa, whatever way I think it would feel dodgy sailing that route and people would feel uncomfortable unless it is sure things are suddenly looking better. What makes this more challenging is it's not just an itinerary change as it has big impact on length of sailing.

3 minutes ago, Lustate said:

 

so compared to the canal, how many times would that add?

Read an article this week saying it can add 10 days to the travel time but I guess this depends on the ship and any stops it's making enroute. If Virgin leaves Dubai as scheduled this is why I think the 10 day Greece/Croatia cruise will be vulnerable. 

Either way something will have to give with the itineraries which is why I think a decision needs making sooner rather than later for planning.

37 minutes ago, Lustate said:

Actually, I am quite curious on this as a challenge to beat. So, if the Suez Canal / Red Sea is not a route ships can use due to increased risks, where would the ship reroute via?

Ships have been having to go all the way around Africa recently - a very frustrating and long diversion! 

I think they need to soon because of the knock on effects for everyone of pre-booked flights and accomodation and like I say I don't see a realistic situation where resilient lady is sailing the original route from Dubai to Athens 

Interesting just wondering if there were any clues around as it's not that far away in terms of planning in the grand scheme of things. I was thinking the 10 day Greece and Croatia on 9th May could be the one to be scrapped if the ship has to take the long route back to Europe. It doesn't seem to be on sale but don't know if that's anything new.

Hi

I'm just wondering if there's any thoughts on what might happen to schedules if Resilient Lady is unable to complete it's Dubai to Athens sailing as planned? Are there any clues from what other companies are doing as I can't see it being safe to travel through the Red Sea when it's due in April.